Over 45 IIT students died by suicide in five years: Government data
The rising number of student suicides in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) is becoming a serious concern.
The issue of student suicides at the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) is becoming a serious concern. According to official data, between 2020-21 and 2024-25, at least 53 students died at IITs across the country. Of these, 45 deaths were due to suicide and eight were due to other unnatural causes. Notably, more than half of these, that is, 29 deaths, were of students from SC, ST, and OBC categories.
Hindustan Times (HT) has obtained official data indicating that
the number of student deaths in IITs has consistently increased over these five years. In 2020-21, five students died, which rose to six each in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Subsequently, this number surged to 17 in 2023-24 and 19 in 2024-25.
According to the data,
out of the total 53 deaths in five years, 45, or 84.9 percent, were cases of suicide. Meanwhile, eight deaths were categorized as unnatural deaths. In 2024-25 alone, 19 students died, of which six deaths were due to unnatural causes.
In terms of category-wise data, 23 students from the general category died, while 12 from OBC, 10 from SC, seven from ST, and one from the EWS category.
This means that a total of 29 deaths of SC, ST, and OBC students accounted for 54.7 percent of the total deaths.
According to the data, out of the 23 deceased students from the general category, seven died due to unnatural causes. Meanwhile, all 12 OBC, all seven ST, and one EWS student died by suicide. Out of the 10 SC students, nine died by suicide. The number of deaths among general category students has also been steadily increasing. There were no deaths recorded from the general category in 2020-21, while there were four in 2021-22, three in 2022-23, seven in 2023-24, and nine in 2024-25.
There has also been a sharp increase in the deaths of SC, ST, and OBC students since 2023-24. In these categories, there were five deaths in 2020-21, two in 2021-22, and three in 2022-23. This number then rose to nine in 2023-24 and 10 in 2024-25.
During the five-year period, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi, and IIT Hyderabad recorded the highest number of seven student deaths each. Following them, IIT Kanpur and IIT (BHU) Varanasi recorded six each, and IIT Madras recorded five student deaths.
Looking solely at suicide cases, IIT Hyderabad recorded the highest number of seven suicides. This was followed by six suicides each at IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi, and IIT Kanpur. In terms of unnatural deaths, IIT (BHU) Varanasi and IIT Patna recorded the highest number of two cases each. According to the data, out of the 23 deceased students from the general category, 13 deaths occurred at IIT Kharagpur, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, and IIT Delhi.
Out of the 12 deceased OBC students, seven deaths were recorded at IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi, and IIT Madras. Meanwhile, out of the 10 deceased SC students, six deaths occurred at IIT Hyderabad and IIT Delhi.
This data is based on information sent by the IITs to the Ministry of Education's Higher Education Department. On December 1, 2025, the Deputy Secretary of the Higher Education Department, Nilesh Chandra Srivastava, sent a letter to the IITs requesting information related to student suicides and unnatural deaths.
This information was requested in response to a question raised in the Lok Sabha by Congress MP K.C. Venugopal. The question sought information on the enrollment, completion rates, complaints of caste discrimination, student suicides, and unnatural deaths of SC, ST, and OBC students, as well as the status of the implementation of UGC's equality-related regulations.
However, despite receiving a response from the IITs, this data was not presented in Parliament. Earlier, in July 2023, the Ministry of Education informed Parliament that 39 students had committed suicide in IITs between 2018 and 2023. Independent assessments have suggested that the actual number of deaths could be higher.
Academic experts and faculty members suggest that there could be several reasons behind student suicides at IITs. These include academic pressure, social isolation, limited communication between students and teachers, and issues related to inclusion on campus.
BITS Pilani Vice Chancellor and former Director of IIT Delhi Professor V. Ramgopal Rao stated that,
the problem is not limited to just having counselors available on campus. Today's students come from more diverse social and academic backgrounds than before. They face challenges such as academic pressure, relative grading, loneliness, limited interaction with teachers, and concerns about jobs. In this context, IITs should focus on prevention rather than just responding after a crisis and make students' mental and social well-being a part of campus life.
According to official data, as of December 1, 2025, there were a total of 108 counselors available across the country's 23 IIT campuses.
Note: Individuals facing mental stress or emotional crises should reach out to a trusted person, mental health professional, or available emergency support service.